


close your eyes, you're almost there

by sinisterkids (400lux)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 23:19:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3955735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/400lux/pseuds/sinisterkids
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jongdae's never been a fan of running, but fortunately, Baekhyun doesn't put up much of a chase.</p><p>sports school!au. (<a href="http://sinisterkids.livejournal.com/14200.html/">lj mirror</a>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	close your eyes, you're almost there

Baekhyun’s never been stalked before, but there’s always a first time for everything. Occasionally, crazy things happen to him—like the time he’d agreed to meet up with a ‘6” tall wushu major, with the sultry stare of an assassin but a heart of gold, who enjoys literature and long walks on the beach’ but had ended up with a snotty shirt and a bruised pinky, or the time he’d fluttered his eyelashes at security in the club where Chanyeol got into a fist fight, got off scot-free but ended up in a field with complete strangers, eating shrooms. In short, his life is pretty wild, but despite his cute-as-heck face, he’s never been stalked, until now.

And he’s pretty sure stalkers aren’t usually this cute.

Focusing on the length of the track ahead of him, the springiness beneath his trainers, instead of the guy in the bleachers with his DSLR camera pointed at him, Baekhyun takes a deep breath, bending down in the starting position and then, the sound of the starting pistol ringing through his ears, _runs_.

Midway through his lap, he realises he’s been trying to keep a straight face, and catches himself in the middle of reaching up to flatten his flyaway hair, and concludes the guy is too much of a distraction.

He slows down to a paced speed walk, swaying his hips in a way he knows is hot as fuck—wait. Why is he aiding and abetting a potential pervert? Man, this is why Baekhyun attracts the creeps. He just really likes the attention.

Eventually Baekhyun reaches the starting point, jogging up to the fencing around the bleachers. He doesn’t really want to talk to the dude, but when he thinks about it, he’s like one of those idiots in the horror films who opens the door upon hearing a baby cry or you know, enters the _fucking abandoned and allegedly haunted house_. He can’t let this guy kill his groove though, “Hey!” Baekhyun calls out, leaning against the railing.

The guy looks away from his camera screen, face brightening when he sees Baekhyun. He leaps out of his seat, walking over to the fence.

Baekhyun can’t help himself and instead of backing away like any smart person would, he leans forward because damn, the dude’s even cuter up close. Cheekbones cut from stone, an adorable grin and dark hair parted in the middle, out of way of the glasses perched on his nose. Tiny and bouncy, much like Baekhyun himself. He’d never been into the whole ♡ TWINSIES 5 EVAH ♡ relationship thing, unlike some people, cough Jongin and Taemin cough, his type leaning more towards tall, dark and handsome, but hey, this guy checks 2 out of 3 boxes. Baekhyun can roll with this.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun asks, after a few moments of blatant ogling. Cat got his tongue. He gestures to the guy’s camera.

“I’m Kim Jongdae.” His smile widens proudly, as if his middle-aged name is something to be proud of, “Reporter for The Orion, the student magazine. We’re doing a profile on you, as the college’s track and field star.”

Baekhyun gapes. A profile? On _him_? “Seriously? Ah, you flatter me. I’m only good at a few events.”

“Yeah. I’ll be your shadow for a couple weeks,” Jongdae says seriously, pushing up his glasses, “You won’t even know I’m there, I swear.”

“Won’t you have to ask me questions?” Baekhyun raises an eyebrow.

Jongdae swears under his breath, before assuming his PR Smile. He’d probably kiss a few babies too, if some were available. “Right. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you.” Jongdae sticks out his hand, Baekhyun cautiously taking it, “I look forward to getting to know you.” He finishes with a wink.

This one, Baekhyun thinks, this one’s a charmer.

 

-

 

Baekhyun sips on his iced coffee, glancing towards the door, searching for someone. That someone is Kim Jongdae, who enters the cafe, camera hanging down his chest, hair windswept and messy and glasses askew. He looks lost, scanning the cafe—Baekhyun waves him over when Jongdae spots him.

“I ordered you an iced mocha,” Baekhyun says, gesturing to the tall glass. “You seem like a mocha kinda guy.”

“Yeah, whoa, it’s actually my favourite,” Jongdae replies, slipping into the seat opposite Baekhyun, “Thank you.”

“No biggie.”

Jongdae begins to beat-box, pretending to spin a record, “Fuck bitches, get money.” Baekhyun laughs, gently kicking Jongdae’s shin with his foot underneath the table. “Anyway, let’s get on with this, shall we? First question, any secret talents?”

Baekhyun leans in close, whispering conspiratorially, “I can read every mind in this room, except for yours.” He points to person after person, “Money, sex, money, uh sex.” He grins, “Cat? And then you? Nothing.”

“You gotta give me some answers, Baekhyun,” Jongdae says, smiling.

Baekhyun strokes his chin, “Yes, no. To get to the other side. 1.77245—”

“I don’t wanna know what the square root of Pi is.”

“You knew that?” Baekhyun asks, grabbing Jongdae’s hand, “I don’t have the strength to stay away from you anymore.”

“Then don’t,” Jongdae whispers seriously, before bursting into laughter. Baekhyun joins in, wiping his eyes in mirth. “Anyway, tell me about yourself. ASL, that kinda thing.”

“Well,” Baekhyun begins, “I’m Byun Baekhyun, twenty and in your pants.” He winks, and Jongdae spits out a mouthful of his drink.

Baekhyun reaches up to wipe away a wet spot from his cheek. Jongdae leans over to dab Baekhyun’s face with a napkin, hastily apologising.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Jongdae tries again, “Can we try for a real interview?”

Baekhyun nods seriously, sitting up straighter in his seat. He’ll stop fooling around now, even if it means missing out on a chance to flirt with Jongdae but hey, he’s a smooth criminal. Subtlety is his shit.

They chat away about Baekhyun’s hobbies, his grandmother’s house and its wealth of childhood memories, his choice of shower gel, and every time he turns the questions on Jongdae, his attempts fall short. “Not even gonna tell me your sport?” Baekhyun sticks his bottom lip out, and Jongdae lets out a sigh.

“Archery.”

Baekhyun dreamily visualises Jongdae, leather armband fastened around his forearm, muscles tensed as he pulls the bowstring taut. He rests his chin in his palm, starry-eyed, daydreaming until Jongdae calls out his name.

“Aren’t you a big fan of it?” Jongdae asks, shaking Baekhyun’s forearm. The corners of his mouth are like tiny sad-faces, pouting at Baekhyun.

“No way, that shit is bananas.” He grins, “B-A-N-A-N-A-S. I love archery. All that shooting, really gets me going.”

Jongdae looks taken aback.

“You know,” Baekhyun purrs, leaning over the table to look up at Jongdae through his eyelashes, “You must be so fearless, doing a dangerous sport like that. Such a man.”

Jongdae laughs, the sound loud and literally a string of HAHAHAHA’s. Baekhyun’s slightly miffed he took his Grade A flirting as a joke, but he joins in anyway.

“Ah, you’re a character, Baekhyun,” Jongdae concludes, “I’ll have fun writing about you.”

 

-

 

The air is frigid, puffs of white condensation escaping Baekhyun’s mouth as he exhales, stretching. He touches his toes, snapping up when he hears the sound of his name. Thinking it’s his coach, or one of his teammates, he turns around, eyes widening in recognition when he sees Jongdae, clad in tiny bike shorts and a tight t-shirt, jogging up to him.

“Mornin’,” Jongdae says, waving perkily.

“It’s _six am_.” Baekhyun narrows his eyes, “Why are you awake? Or the better question would be, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Decided to get an insider’s view,” He replies, wiggling his fingers. “Hope you don’t mind?”

“Nah—” Baekhyun says, shaking his head in astonishment. He glances down to see Jongdae bent over, stretching his legs, ass looking glorious and totally squeezable in those shorts. “D-do you want me to show you the ropes? Like, not the BDSM kinda ropes,” He stammers, “Unless you’re into that, of course.”

Jongdae straightens up, turning back to grin at Baekhyun, “Sure.”

Showing him the ropes ends up in Baekhyun kneeling next to a wheezing Jongdae on the track, patting his back in concern. His coach looms over them, yapping at one of the team members to get a bottle of water for Jongdae. He asks Baekhyun if his friend is okay, a look of concern on his face, which is ten times more emotion than he usually shows. If Baekhyun didn’t know any better, he would say his coach is _fond_ , but that’s absurd.

Looking down at Jongdae, curled up like a kitten on the ground, Baekhyun can understand why even a heartless, grumpy man like his coach would be smitten though.

“I want to try again,” Jongdae breathes, mustering up what conviction he can to sit himself up. He gulps down some of the water, before standing up, jumping on the spot a bit. “Yeah, look at me. Brand spanking new.”

“I think the phrase is _good as new_ ,” Baekhyun says, definitely not thinking about the words “spanking” and “Jongdae” in the same context.

Jongdae leans in, face so close to Baekhyun’s he could bend over and—”Boo. Let’s see if you can beat me this time.”

Baekhyun’s eyes dance, “You’re on.”

“Like Donkey Kong!” Jongdae’s calling out, already off in a sprint down the track, leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

Laughing, Baekhyun runs after him.

 

-

 

As far as roommates and best friends go, it doesn’t get any better than Jongin, except on the occasions where he steals from Baekhyun’s special stash of chocolate almonds or decides to be as protective as a redneck father with a .22 long rifle. Baekhyun groans, burying his head under his pillow as Jongin recites the Bill of Rights, Twelfth Amendment which states that “Thou shalt not flirt with archery majors, especially not cute ones, because why be happy when you can live alone with eleven cats for the rest of your life”. Jongin is such a party pooper.

“What is your problem?” Baekhyun says, leaning on his elbows to glare at Jongin across the room, “Why do you get to play marrieds with Taemin while I live, day-by-day, lonely and unwillingly celibate?”

“ _Celibate_ ,” Jongin snorts, “The point is, archery majors are always assholes. All they do is pretend to kill things, like, how is that something to be pretentious about?”

“Please,” Baekhyun says dramatically, falling onto his back, “Jongdae isn’t an asshole. In fact he’s the literal embodiment of sunshine. He’s so nice, it’s dumb. He fucking _glows_ , I’m telling you.”

“Thought you were into bad boys,” Jongin laughs.

“I’ve had a change of heart,” insists Baekhyun, “Now stop being annoying, and help me win his.”

 

-

 

What does Byun Baekhyun do in his spare time?

Why, he’s a Good Samaritan, of course.

“Gather around, kids,” Baekhyun calls out, before lowering his voice to a whisper as if he’s letting them in on a secret, “This is a very special room, filled with really, _really_ old stuff.”

“Wasn’t that every room, mister?” A little girl states snarkily, hands on her hips. Baekhyun narrows his eyes, as the three friends behind her drawl, “Yeaaah!” This one’s been sassing him all day.

“Yeah, well,” He starts, “This one has even cooler old stuff. The oldest stuff you could possibly see.”

“We’re going to see God?” A boy in a button-up shirt asks, clinging to Baekhyun’s leg.

Baekhyun grins cheekily, “Not exactly. Now, come on. Let’s check it out.”

He gathers the elementary school students around, herding them into the last room and his personal favourite, the Dinosaur Exhibit. The children stare in wonder, _ah_ ’s and _whoa_ ’s escaping their mouths. Baekhyun smiles, leaving them to look around by themselves, with a warning not to touch anything.

Out of his periphery, he spies a stranger hovering over a couple of the kids, chatting to them. He’s about to storm over until he recognises that bright smile and notebook-in-hand. “Jongdae!” He calls out, walking over.

“Just the guy I wanted to see.” Jongdae grins, throwing his arm around Baekhyun’s shoulder. “So, you volunteer at the museum, huh? That’s cute.”

Baekhyun shrugs, “When I can. It’s pretty fun.” He says, pulling the hand that has its nails dug into his thigh off him, the kid scurrying away, yelling _veloshiraptor, roar!_ “Were you looking around?”

Jongdae scratches the back of his neck, “I was actually looking for you. Did some digging around,” He snorts, “ _Digging around_ , and found out you work here.”

“Well c’mon then,” Baekhyun says, gesturing for Jongdae to follow him, “Let me give you a personal tour, after I’m done with the kids.”

Half an hour later has the students clinging onto Baekhyun with whines of _hyung_ and _oppa_ , unwilling to leave him and the museum. After a cackling Jongdae gets his ‘very important’ shots, he has to bolt and hide in the Egyptian section, Jongdae on his heels, as the teacher herds the crying children out.

“Does that happen a lot?” Jongdae asks, laughing.

Baekhyun presses a finger to Jongdae’s lips, hushing him. "Now this here, is Tutankhamun."

 

-

 

Jongdae chases Baekhyun down, shoving him onto the lawn in front of the museum, yelling "Victory is mine!" as he smashes his ice-cream into Baekhyun's face.

"I surrender!" Baekhyun cries out, gasping in his fight to get away, "Fuck, Jongdae, _sorry_."

Jongdae finally lets up, falling back onto the grass, sticky ice-cream dripping down his face. He pants, trying to catch his breath. Baekhyun lies down next to him, sighing contentedly under the warm sunlight.

After a few moments, Jongdae breaks the silence, "We should go clean up."

"We should," Baekhyun agrees.

Jongdae leaps up, getting quite a few stares from curious and disapproving onlookers, gives Baekhyun's face one last push for good measure and then whizzes across the lawn.

Baekhyun sprints after him, slowing down when they're inside, in search of a bathroom.

They clean up, washing their faces and giggling like little children as they flick water at each other. Baekhyun runs a hand through his hair, turning to Jongdae, "Can I see you doing archery? Archering?"

"Shooting?" Jongdae adds helpfully, "Why? I'm supposed to be observing _you_."

Baekhyun pouts, holding onto Jongdae's arm, "Please? I'll be more comfortable around you."

Jongdae snickers at Baekhyun’s blatant bullshitting, "As if you're not already. OK, fine. But only this one time."

On campus, Jongdae drags Baekhyun to the special archery arena, hand-in-hand. Baekhyun’s is getting clammy, but he doesn’t let go, stomach fluttering happily. “We can use one of the practice bows,” Jongdae explains, once inside. He grabs one from where they’re hung on the wall, testing the string.

“We?”

“Yeah,” Jongdae says, grinning, “Thought I might show you the ropes.”

Usually, you’d think, if you were holding a bow, aiming to shoot at something, you would try to focus the best you can. Baekhyun, however, cannot focus with Jongdae’s body barely centimetres away from pressing against Baekhyun’s, his breath warm on Baekhyun’s neck as he explains the procedure to him, hands around Baekhyun’s, gently manoeuvring him so he’s in the right form.

“Are you sure I’m not gonna kill anyone?” Baekhyun asks shakily.

“As long as you don’t aim it at me, we’re good,” Jongdae says, thumb rubbing circles onto the back of Baekhyun’s hand, “Stop shaking. You’ll be fine, trust me.”

Baekhyun nods, trying to calm his beating heart as Jongdae steps away from him. He aims the arrow in the direction of the target, taking a deep breath before shooting.

The arrow flies far-left and bounces against the wall, falling tragically to the floor.

Baekhyun turns to pout at a laughing Jongdae. “Again! I’ll get it this time.”

The day ends with three broken arrows and the rest scattered on the floor. There’s one lone arrow proudly stuck off-centre in the target, and Baekhyun counts it as a win.

 

-

 

Usually, Baekhyun would be jumping at an opportunity like this. A date with his long-term crush? You don't even have to ask. But now he's been feeling all sorts of fuzzy things for Jongdae, he's a little hesitant saying yes to Kim Taeyeon, a swimming major.

He agrees anyway though, because he’d be an idiot not to take an opportunity like that.

“You’ve got a date?” Jongdae asks over the phone. He had called to tell Baekhyun he was inspired and asked to volunteer at the museum too. Baekhyun silently prays they have shifts together.

“Uh huh,” Baekhyun replies, phone wedged between his ear and shoulder as he applies eyeliner to his waterline. “What are you up to tonight?”

“Research,” shares Jongdae. “I’ll see you later then?”

When Jongdae hangs up, Baekhyun turns to glare at an eavesdropping Jongin. “He sounds jealous.” Jongin says, matter-of-factly.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Baekhyun replies airily, “I’m hot stuff.”

“Seriously Baekhyun, why don’t you just ask him out?”

Baekhyun shrugs, “We’re just hanging out because of the profile thing.”

“It’s been a month, Baekhyun.” Jongin shakes his head in disbelief, turning his attention back to his laptop.

Well. Jongdae’s just very thorough.

 

-

 

Taeyeon’s picked out a nice restaurant for their date—when Baekhyun arrives, he offers her a charming grin, slipping into the opposite seat. They chat idly while waiting for their food and Baekhyun thinks it’s going great, some underlying tension that will surely result in him getting laid later. He’s not usually one for sex on the first date, but when you’ve got someone as hot as Taeyeon who is clearly interested, why not take the chance?

Half-way through dessert, Baekhyun’s building up to his final move. Then Taeyeon leans over, whispering, “That guy over there, nine o’clock, he’s been staring at us all night.” Baekhyun turns to look, and she kicks his shin under the table, “Don’t look.”

Baekhyun sneaks in a quick peek, immediately recognising the figure, furiously taking down notes as he sips a beer. Jongdae’s alone, and Baekhyun doesn’t have a clue what he would be doing here when he said he was—oh. _Research_. The profile on Baekhyun.

Jongdae looks up when he feels Baekhyun’s eyes on him. He sinks into his seat until Baekhyun waves him over. “Are you waiting for someone?” Baekhyun asks when Jongdae stops at their table, leaning against it with his weight. Baekhyun doesn’t need to smell the alcohol to see that Jongdae’s a little tipsy.

“You know each other?” Taeyeon asks.

“Yeah, uh, we’re—” Jongdae starts.

“Jongdae’s doing a report on me for The Orion,” Baekhyun finishes, smiling at Taeyeon. She looks mildly impressed looking between the two of them.

Jongdae nods, staggering backwards, “I’ll just be,” He waves behind him, “over there.”

Watching Jongdae in concern, Baekhyun only registers Taeyeon calling his name when she pinches his hand. He turns to her, as she says, “You like him?”

Shit. “A little?” He admits, bracing himself for Taeyeon’s reaction.

Taeyeon raises an eyebrow, “Well, what are you doing here with me then? Go get ‘em.”

“ _Seriously_?”

“Listen to noona,” She says, narrowing her eyes.

He gets up, laughing in disbelief. He bows to her and apologises for wasting her time, but she waves him off. Wow, she really is the woman of his dreams.

But right now, Baekhyun’s going after someone else. Jongdae looks up in surprise when Baekhyun looms over him, clearing his throat to get his attention. “What’s up?” Jongdae asks, eyes darting to Taeyeon who gives Baekhyun a supportive thumbs up.

“Um,” Baekhyun begins, “Taeyeon’s going home and so, I wondered if I could chill with you?” He mentally kicks himself for chickening out.

“Date didn’t go so well?”

“Nah,” Baekhyun says, shrugging as he sits in the seat opposite Jongdae, “She’s nice, but I like someone else.”

Jongdae chokes on his beer, coughing before he manages to say, “Oh, who?”

Baekhyun bites his bottom lip nervously. He’s good at flirting, but something about Jongdae makes his insides turn jelly. He avoids the question, asking Jongdae about his article instead. Jongdae frowns in confusion, but talks easily enough, and soon an hour goes by.

“I know this is really weird but,” Jongdae says when they’re outside the restaurant. He’s leaning onto Baekhyun for support, his words slurred, “You think I could see your dorm?”

“For—” Baekhyun says, “For the profile?”

Jongdae hums, resting his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder. Baekhyun wants to kiss him so bad, but he’d never take advantage of him while he’s drunk.

He walks them back to his dorm room, taking out his key and opening the door with one hand, the other clasped in Jongdae’s. Jongin’s snoozing in his bed, blissfully unaware of the pair. Jongdae stumbles around, peering at the mess on Baekhyun’s desk, picking up a pair of underwear from the chair and then dropping it. Baekhyun watches him intently as he walks around and eventually gives up, flopping on Baekhyun’s bed.

He curls up, cuddling the pillow, “Ah, it’s comfy, Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun’s at a loss—what is he meant to do with a drunk and sleepy Jongdae in his bed? He sits on the edge, shaking Jongdae’s leg, but the latter is unresponsive, sighing adorably. “Jongdae,” Baekhyun whisper-shouts, “Jongdae, wake up.”

He sighs, standing up to strip and put his pyjamas on. He then climbs under the covers, rolling Jongdae over so he can put them over him as well. He takes off Jongdae’s glasses and places them carefully on the bedside table.

Staring at the back of Jongdae’s head, Baekhyun almost jumps in surprise when he turns around, pulling Baekhyun in by the neck, and nuzzling up to him. “Sleep, Baekyunnie~,” Jongdae sing-songs, voice groggy.

Baekhyun takes a deep breath, closing his eyes so he doesn’t have to see Jongdae’s cute face anymore, and soon falls asleep.

 

-

 

In the morning, Baekhyun untangles himself from Jongdae’s tight grasp, and goes for his daily run. On the way back, he stops for breakfast, grabbing a few croissants and coffee. He’s opening the door to his dorm, when he hears a girly shriek inside.

Jongin is standing over Jongdae, towel wrapped haphazardly around his hips. He spins around at the sound of Baekhyun entering, and glares, “You two didn’t—” He sniffs, “ _you know_ , while I was sleeping did you? Perverts.” He mutters under his breath.

“What?!” Jongdae says, swinging his legs off the bed, “No!”

Baekhyun grins wickedly, “Nothing wrong with a little exhibitionism, young grasshopper.”

Jongin shakes his head in disgust. Baekhyun winks at Jongdae.

“I should get going,” Jongdae says hurriedly, standing up, “I’m really sorry for imposing.”

“Hey,” Baekhyun says, blocking Jongdae off as he tries to leave, “I brought us breakfast.”

Jongdae looks down, visibly tempted by the smell of hot croissants. He looks torn between leaving or getting free food.

Free food wins every time, though, Baekhyun thinks triumphantly as he and Jongdae sit outside on the grass, drinking their coffee and eating. “I’m sorry about last night,” Jongdae says, for the billionth time.

“Seriously, it’s no big deal. I was the one who agreed to your dumb idea of observing my room.”

Jongdae laughs, “True. I learnt a lot though, like the fact that you talk in your sleep. _Jongdae, I love you, you’re my favourite person ever._ ”

Baekhyun’s heart sinks as Jongdae bursts into laughter at his expression, “I’m kidding, oh my God. I was out cold. Your _face_.”

Baekhyun sniffs, turning away as Jongdae apologises, patting his hair. It was believable. He wouldn’t put it past himself.

 

-

 

The mid-year tournament is in a couple weeks, which means more training and definitely more runs. Baekhyun doesn’t want to push himself too hard, but the weather outside is too nice to resist and he ends up going for an afternoon jog in the park. The sun’s out and there’s a light breeze, so there’s many people around.

Baekhyun doesn’t pay any mind to anyone around him, focusing on his breathing. He needs to keep up his reputation as the best, after all.

He hums along to Beyoncé as he passes a group of friends, mindlessly chatting away on the brick wall surrounding the path. Too into character, mouthing the words to _Countdown_ , Baekhyun doesn’t notice a figure running parallel to him. Out of his peripheral vision, he recognises Jongdae, and almost jumps in fright. His heart stops for a second, and he cries out, “What are you doing?!”

Jongdae grins, keeping up with Baekhyun’s speed, “Running. It’s a nice day, don’t you think?”

“You’re not even in sports gear.” Baekhyun notes, eyeing Jongdae’s denim shorts and singlet.

Jongdae shrugs, “It was an impromptu decision.” To his credit, he doesn’t sound too out of breath yet. He continues jogging with Baekhyun, trying to make conversation before he starts to wheeze and gives up.

Baekhyun eventually slows down to a stop when Jongdae bends over and leans against the wall, head spinning, “How do you do this everyday?” He asks, coughing.

“I do it everyday,” Baekhyun states simply.

“Fuck you,” Jongdae says, looking horribly pale. Baekhyun offers him his water bottle, watching regretfully as Jongdae gulps half of it down.

Baekhyun begins to stretch, motioning for Jongdae to as well. When Jongdae almost falls flat on his face, Baekhyun crouches next to him, pressing his fingers into the back of his knees, helping him. Jongdae snorts, jumping away, the area sensitive for him. Grinning up at him, Baekhyun slides his hands up, unaware of the effect he’s having on Jongdae. He’s only innocently assisting him, but by the time they’re done, Jongdae’s breathless in a different way.

“Let’s go again?” Baekhyun asks, turning back to smile at Jongdae.

Jongdae groans, running after Baekhyun.

 

-

 

It’s the day of the tournament. Baekhyun’s pumped, a mix of nerves and adrenaline, but he’s confident that he’ll do well. He’s up for hurdles first, a weakness of his, but he comes a solid third and nothing can rain on his parade.

The last race, the 200m relay is probably Baekhyun’s strongest area. They call a break mid-afternoon, to reassemble later for it. Baekhyun’s resting on the lawn when he gets a text from Jongin telling him to look at the bleachers. He sits up, squinting through the sun to see a huge banner with his name on it, and Jongin and Taemin waving madly. Another head pops up from over the banner, and it’s Jongdae, grinning brilliantly at him.

“Hey,” Baekhyun calls out, after he jogs up to the railing, “You’re here for me?” He clutches his chest, feeling oddly touched.

Jongdae jumps up, walking down to Baekhyun, “Yeah. Good luck out there, you’ve done amazing so far.” He leans over to hug Baekhyun, as Jongin and Taemin holler and whistle at them.

“Make sure you take flattering photos of me,” Baekhyun says, smiling angelically, “Or I’ll never forgive you.”

“Ooh, I’m scared. Wouldn’t want Byun Baekhyun to hold a grudge on me.”

Baekhyun slaps his arm. He can be totally cold if he wanted to. “So, will you be my personal cheerleader?”

“Your cheerleader?” Jongdae raises an eyebrow, “Give me an N! Give me an O! What does that spell?! No.”

Baekhyun sticks out his bottom lip. “Don’t be a spoilsport. Get it?” Jongdae blinks in confusion.

He continues, “Anyway, let me demonstrate.” Baekhyun jumps into a star form, waving his imaginary pompoms around, “I’m sexy, I’m cute! I’m popular to boot! I'm wanted, I'm hot, I'm everything you're not!” He sticks his butt out, grinning.

Jongdae claps, mildly amused, “Okay, but I’ve always wondered. If one is called a pompom, does that make two of them, pompompompoms? These are the questions that haunt me.” He strokes his chin.

“Make out already!” Taemin calls out.

“OPPAS, SARANGHAEYO~ WE LOVE FANSERVICE!” Jongin yells, pretending to faint on Taemin.

Baekhyun’s about to shout back before he hears the relay being announced through the speakers.

He runs back to the track and waits for the starting gun, gaze wandering to the right where Jongdae throws him a thumbs up and blows him a kiss for good measure.

He comes first, gold medal hitting his chest as he runs up to the railing, jumping over it, and gets pulled into a bone-crushing hug by Jongdae, who spins him around and around until he’s positively dizzy.

 

-

 

Baekhyun’s never been stalked before, but occasionally, crazy things do happen to him.

He’s on holidays, and he’ll be going back home in a week. For now, he wastes his days playing video games with Chanyeol, sleeping and eating. Oh, and going on what Jongin would call ‘dates’ with Jongdae. Baekhyun wouldn’t go that far though. He prefers to be a little more official when dating. Misunderstandings suck.

Chanyeol snorts as Baekhyun tells him this, “You’re literally the living embodiment of a misunderstanding.”

Baekhyun shoves him. He grunts, falling on the floor, “What is with you people? I’ll ask Jongdae out once he’s done with all that research.”

“Wait,” Chanyeol sits up, eyes widening, “You mean you don’t know?”

“What?” Baekhyun says, narrowing his eyes.

Chanyeol leaps up, bounding over to his desk. He walks back, a magazine in his hand. He throws it into Baekhyun’s lap, telling him to open it. “His profile on you was published _three months ago_."

Turning to the page listed in the contents, Baekhyun's heart is hammering in his chest. He's at a loss for words, reading the article. It's a double spread—there's a photo of him running, one of him eating ice-cream and a few other key snapshots.

" _Byun Baekhyun_ ," it reads, " _is well known as one of the best track and field majors in our college. But through my time with him, I've found that he's much more than that. A flirt, in a way that is strangely charismatic and cute, a hard-working student and a trustworthy friend._ "

He gets to the end, blinking back tears, " _I've never been a fan of running, but I don't think I mind chasing Baekhyun. He never slows down, and that, dear readers, is why he's the best_."

Chanyeol's voice filters through the white noise in Baekhyun’s ears, "—more of a love letter than an article."

"Three months ago?" Baekhyun echoes weakly.

"Yeah," Chanyeol says, "Everyone thought you knew about it, and that you two were going out."

"I—" Baekhyun says, standing up on shaky legs, "I have to go."

He has a fair idea of where Jongdae is right now, having received the new volunteer schedule yesterday. He _runs_ , breathless by the time he reaches the museum.

Taking the tour route, each of the rooms are empty until he reaches the Dinosaur Exhibit, thankful for the tell-tale sounds of children.

The kids are gathered around Jongdae as he animatedly talks to them about the Brachiosaurus. Baekhyun stands to the side, smiling fondly. Jongdae's an absolute natural at this, and the students are way better behaved than they are with Baekhyun.

Jongdae doesn't notice Baekhyun until he ushers the students out of the door with the teacher, waving goodbye to them. "Jongdae!" Baekhyun calls out, grabbing his wrist before he leaves.

"Hi?" Jongdae asks. "I thought your shift was—"

Jongdae's words are cut off by a pair of lips pressing against his. He's surprised at first, but soon melts into the kiss, allowing Baekhyun to coax his mouth open, running his tongue along Jongdae's teeth.

By the time Baekhyun pulls back, Jongdae's eyes are blown and he's slightly panting, and he's pretty sure they just scandalised the guards watching the security cameras.

"Baekhyun?" Jongdae says, licking his lips. Baekhyun controls his urge to kiss Jongdae senseless again, just so he can do this properly.

"I read your article," Baekhyun starts, holding Jongdae's hands, "If I'd known—"

"I should've told you," Jongdae interrupts, "But you know, I thought it would be kinda romantic if you found it on your own."

Baekhyun laughs, "I never even knew the student magazine existed before you happened. But hey, at least we're here." He leans forward to kiss Jongdae again.

"Yeah," Jongdae says, once he pulls back, resting his forehead on Baekhyun's, "We're here."


End file.
